


Falling for you was inevitable

by Dance_Alone



Category: Hurts (UK Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-04 10:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16345214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_Alone/pseuds/Dance_Alone
Summary: A camping trip among friends





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! ;) So I wanted to write down an idea I had during the summer. It's a short story I will post in two parts. This time I just wanted to write something light and mostly from Theo's pov, since for some reason I told my previous stories mainly through Adam's eyes. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Theo's POV

„You’ve got everything?“ I asked Adam after he had closed the trunk of the car and took the passenger seat next to me. 

“Yes, I think we’re good to go,” he said, smiling a bit.

“Brilliant!” I exclaimed, while starting the engine and driving off. 

I was excited for the little adventure that was awaiting us during the next few days. It was Paul’s birthday the following day and he had the idea to do a little camping trip. Paul loves camping and so do I. I love the countryside and being surrounded by nature. It gives me a special sense of freedom. Adam hadn’t been that enthusiastic at first. He’s not that much of an adventurer. He loves the city and the surroundings he’s used to. But since Paul is not only a bandmate but a very close friend to us, he eventually agreed. And also Lael decided to come. First we thought it would only be the four of us, a round of proper males, but then Paul told us that his sister is joining us as well and that she would bring a friend of hers. So well, we would actually have to behave a bit with ladies being with us.

“I already miss my bed,” Adam was whining next to me.

“Oh come on, the air bed will do for the next days. You’re not 60. And by the way it isn’t even your bed you’re sleeping in at the moment,” I playfully pointed out at him. 

“Yeah sure, rub in my face… But don’t worry, I have an appointment to visit an apartment when we are back from our little trip. So maybe you will be rid of me soon,” Adam gave back, not looking at me as I threw a short glance at him.

Since Adam had broken up with his long-term girlfriend a couple of months ago, he was staying with me in my apartment. The relationship between those two had been strained for a while, so it didn’t come as a big surprise when it eventually reached its end. Still, it was a very difficult situation of course and Adam had nowhere to go when he left the apartment he had shared with her for the past couple of years. Of course he could have stayed in a hotel, but that wasn't much of a home and I didn't want him to be alone so short after the break-up.

So I offered him to stay with me until he would find an apartment of his own. It’s not like we hadn’t lived together in the past. We managed in a small shitty flat in Manchester, so we would manage now, too. And as expected, it worked out fine. We were close, always had been. We were very used to each other’s company with the huge amount of time we had already spent together in our lives. I actually quite enjoyed having him around. It took away the loneliness that hit me sometimes when returning to an empty flat especially after having been on tour. But we also knew each other well enough to know when to back off and give the other some space. And with traveling and doing the summer shows, those months in which we were sharing the apartment really had gone by in a flash.

“I didn’t mean it like that…” I said a bit apologetically, somehow having the feeling he had taken my comment the wrong way. “You can stay as long as you want to, but of course I’m happy for you if you find an apartment for your liking.” 

“Yeah, I know. Thanks.” Adam smiled shortly but remained silent after that and I somehow couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I had done something wrong, even though I had no idea what it was. 

*

After a while we finally arrived at our destination. We were the last ones and of course Paul had to point it out immediately. 

“Well, Adam took so long to pack all his stuff!” I said, raising my hands in defense.

“But you forgot to mention that you took the wrong route and without our little detour we could have been here half an hour ago!” Adam threw in, not wanting to take all the blame of course.

I just smiled sheepishly and then pulled our friends into a hug to greet them properly. We already knew Paul’s sister Mary from some occasions, but were newly introduced to Dana, Mary’s friend. Dana was a pretty girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, definitely my type. So I made sure to give her a charming smile. Maybe we could have a little flirt, which would make the camping even more fun.

“What about we have a little picnic now and after that we can put up our tents?” Lael suggested and since it was already noon and everyone was fairly hungry by now, he earned agreement. 

During the picnic it was a very relaxed atmosphere. I had a really good feeling about our little group and I was sure the next days would be fun. Dana was not only pretty, but also smart and had a good sense of humour. I liked it. I was sitting there contently in the grass, eating bread and cheese and some grapes and took in my surroundings. Next to our camping site was a little forest and not far away was a huge lake with clear blue water where we planned to go swimming since the weather forecast was pretty good for the next days.

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?” I said to Adam next to me and he nodded.

“Yeah, very peaceful. Maybe the idea of coming here wasn’t that bad after all.” He smiled, one corner of his mouth twitching up. 

“I knew you would like it!” I grinned, throwing an arm around his shoulder. 

He tensed up a bit before he made his body relax again. It confused me, since it wasn’t the first time this was happening. I sometimes wondered if he was avoiding me. And then on other times, especially when there was alcohol in the game, he even seemed to initiate physical contact more than it was strictly necessary. But I could also see his awkwardness afterwards and I didn’t really understand. Those kind of things have never been an issue between us as they were normal gestures between friends. Maybe I would have to ask him about it sometime in the future if his behaviour kept confusing me, but for now I just chose to ignore it.

After finishing our little picnic we started putting up our tents. We had three small tents, each of it made for two people. One for Adam and me, the other for Paul and Lael and the third one for the girls obviously, even though I wouldn’t have minded to share my tent with Dana. 

Putting up the tent wasn’t that much of a challenge, since I’ve done that a couple of times in the past. So, Adam and I were finished very quickly and I hurried to help the girls, who were struggling a bit more. I wanted to impress Dana, but in the end I had to be saved by Adam, who prevented some tent material from stabbing my eye out. I was glad he somehow always seemed to watch out for me and when I thanked him for saving my eye he just shrugged and turned away with a little smile on his lips, mumbling something that sounded an awful lot like “Bambi”. But as I knew he was right, I swallowed my protest and just smiled myself.

After our task was done, we had another little break and then decided that the men would go and collect some wood in the nearby forest because we wanted to make a little fire in the evening. The girls stayed behind, sunbathing. I didn’t mind the view of them in a bikini at all and I would have liked to join them but first some work had to be done. So, I walked through the forest, picking up some wood here and there, but mostly just enjoyed the nature and being by myself for a little while, just basking in my own thoughts. 

Then suddenly something or rather someone jumped into my sight from behind a large tree with a loud ‘Boo’. I screamed like a little girl, letting the bunch of my collected wood drop to the ground. In the next moment I realized that it was Adam and I felt a bit embarrassed that he managed to scare me.

“You’re such an idiot, Anderson,” I grumbled, while he was just standing there, laughing his ass off.

“Oh come on, you always want action and adventure. And now that I give it to you, you complain. Make up your mind, boy!” Adam brought out between chuckles.

I just glared at him before I crouched down in order to pick up my dropped firewood. I was just glad that Dana wasn’t around. This had been totally not manly and I hated it to make a fool out of myself especially in front of pretty women.

I suddenly felt Adam’s hand lightly touching my neck. “Come on Theo, stop pouting. It was funny, you’ve got to admit that!” he said, not pulling his hand away.

I felt goosebumps rising over my body and I quickly brushed his hand off and got up from the ground, my firewood collected together once again. When I came face to face with him, his gaze was somewhat intense, the blue of his eyes shining brightly with some sunrays reflecting in it. We just stood there, staring at each other. I didn’t even know if I was supposed to answer a question, my brain somehow empty. It was an odd moment between us, that was eventually interrupted when Paul and Lael came towards us. 

“Is everything all right? We heard a scream. Please don’t say you’ve hurt yourself again, Theo!” Paul shouted from a few meters away.

I tore my gaze away from Adam and turned to our bandmates instead. “No, no I’m fine. It was just that wanker here thinking it was cool to scare the shit out of me.”

“Kids” Paul laughed, accompanied by a dramatic eye roll. 

“As if you were much more adult,” Lael teased him, giving Paul a playful shove in the side. 

We decided then to go back to our camping site together since we’ve already collected enough wood for today. While Paul and Lael were walking a bit ahead of us, still bantering with each other, Adam suddenly grabbed my arm, holding me back for a moment.

“Are you mad at me? You are so quiet. I’m sorry if it wasn’t that funny as I thought it would be…” His face was serious, a little crease of worry forming on his forehead.

“What? No, of course not. But you surely will pay for it, bastard!” I smirked at him and I immediately saw him relax at my words, grinning widely. Everything was back to normal, that strange moment between us from earlier forgotten. Almost.

The evening we spent gathered around our little campfire was very nice. There was food and drinks, shared stories and lots of laughter. And of course music. Adam had brought his guitar and we were all singing along. Finally one thing I could impress Dana with. My voice. I could tell that she liked it a lot and there were definitely some flirty glances exchanged. While singing a more romantic song I made sure to sing the lines directly to her, which made her smile shyly and she even blushed a bit. I smiled, too, satisfied with myself but when I looked over to Adam my smile faltered a bit. He was staring at us, or more correctly at me, his expression unreadable. He then quickly averted his gaze and put his guitar aside after finishing the song.

“It’s not long until midnight now, so get your drinks ready!” he exclaimed, not looking at me again. At midnight we all raised our drinks to Paul, congratulating him and then we gave him the presents we had brought. It was endearing to see Paul acting like an exciting kid and so the evening ended with lots of laughter sometime in the early morning hours. 

*

Adam’s POV

I had already made myself comfortable in our tent on the air bed and was waiting for Theo now to come in and join me. He was still out brushing his teeth or whatever. Or maybe he just used the opportunity to chat with Dana a bit more when no one else was around. I had seen the way he looked at her and I knew she was his type. I didn’t like it, even though I had no right to think that way. I should really get my shit together, but I couldn’t help it. Something had changed with Theo. Or maybe it had always been the same. But the circumstances had changed and above all I had changed. The old me was long gone. I was much braver now, more confident. 

Theo had been my friend for so long. I couldn’t even remember the time before I met him. Not really. And suddenly he had been there, intruding my life like nobody before or after him. He was a bit overwhelming at times, like a force of nature. For me he always stood out over everyone. I can’t say I had been in love with him all along. I don’t think it would be true. It would imply too much, an emotion too grand. But there had always been something, something I was never really able to put a finger on. Back then I would never have admitted it though, not even to myself. But it didn’t really matter, in my mind Theo had been out of reach anyway. Making a move towards him only would have caused a lot of problems and I would have had to face things about myself, I wasn’t ready to face at that time. Questions about my sexuality for example. 

So life went on, we became successful and our world changed drastically. Then I got to know my ex-girlfriend and everything was fine for a whole while. I loved her and we had some good years together even though it had been difficult with me traveling so much. Anyway, most good things come to an end eventually and so did our relationship. It’s been hard to accept that it was over, that we had failed, that we couldn’t make it work, even though we tried. We really did. 

I was afraid that those dark emotions would overwhelm me, that I wouldn’t be able to handle it on my own, but Theo had been there to catch me. He knew what was going on inside of me, without me having to pour my heart out in front of him. He had always been the one who understood my silence and I was grateful for it. Expressing emotions and sharing my feelings had never been something that came easy to me. But Theo was having my back as always and that was the most important thing for me. It was enough that he was just there. He let me stay with him. Again. It reminded me of the situation from all those years ago, even though our lives had changed completely since then.

Living together had brought back an old closeness we hadn’t shared in years. Not like that. And it made me realize he was actually the only real constant in my life. I cared deeply for him. And if I’d say as a friend only, it would be a lie. Those old buried feelings had somehow made it to the surface again but this time I could acknowledge them differently. I was more honest with myself, there was an inner freedom I had never known in the past. Yes, so what if I wasn’t completely straight? There was nothing wrong with it. It didn’t matter that Theo was a man; the only thing that mattered was what I felt for him. And I felt a lot for him.

Suddenly I saw a beam of light coming from a torch towards our tent, pulling me out of my thoughts. Next Theo crawled into the tent, blinding me with his stupid torch.

“Oh you’re finally here,” I said dryly. “And stop pointing that thing in my face!”

“Yeah, yeah sorry,” he chuckled, trying to whisper in case the others were already sleeping. “I almost ended up in the wrong tent, the one of the girls. Everything looks the same when it’s dark.” He giggled.

“Yeah of course, absolutely accidently.” I rolled my eyes.

“Really Adam… And now scoot a bit, you can’t take all the space for yourself!”

I moved a bit to the left and propped myself up on an elbow, watching Theo as he got under his blanket. The torch was lying next to him, so that we had a bit of light. 

“So… You and Dana, hm?” I didn’t know why I had to bring it up. Maybe I just needed to hear what Theo had to say on that matter.

Theo looked over to me, surprise showing on his face. “Well, I don’t know… She seems like a nice girl und she’s pretty. A little summer flirt would be nice. It’s been a while since… you know.” He just made a gesture with his hand and left his sentence uncompleted. 

I just hummed as a sign that I understood. I didn’t really know what to say. What I felt was too close to jealousy for my liking. I didn’t want to feel that way. It would only make things very difficult and complicated. But I couldn’t fight it either.

“What about you Adam?” Theo suddenly spoke up next to me again. “I mean, it’s been a while since your break-up and maybe it would do you good if you…” I didn’t let him finish.

“I’m fine Theo. There’s no one I’m interested in at the moment, at least not...” I stopped mid-sentence and silently cursed my lose tongue. I shouldn’t have conversations like that with alcohol in my system.

“At least not what?” Of course he wouldn’t let this go.

I was chewing on my lip, debating for a moment but decided then and there that I didn’t want to hide anymore. Not from Theo, not from anyone. “At least not a woman.”

Theo looked at me with big eyes, clearly speechless, which wasn’t something that happened frequently. “You um… you mean…” He was stumbling over his own words.

“Yes that’s what I mean, Theo. I like a guy,” I whispered, helping him out. I wasn’t entirely sure if that had been a smart move or not but it somehow felt liberating to let him know.  
“You have a problem with that?” I asked a bit hesitantly since he still hadn’t said a word.

Theo immediately shook his head. “No… no of course not. Why would I? I’m just surprised to be honest. We’ve known each other for a long time and in all those years you’ve never… or have you?” There was uncertainty in his voice.

“No, I haven’t. But things change and people change. I feel more like myself now than ever before and maybe this is just one side of me I never dared to let out in the open.”

“Yeah, I can see the change in you, Adam. And I’m happy about it. It’s the most important thing that you feel good about yourself.” Theo smiled at me and then he leaned over, giving me a short hug, before quickly scrambling back to his own side of the tent. He looked even a bit bashful and I just wanted to pull him close again and keep hugging him till sunrise. But of course I didn’t do that.

“We should try to get some sleep now,” I said instead and Theo nodded. I could see that there were questions in his head but it wasn’t the right time nor place to have a conversation like that. And if he’d ask who the guy is that I liked, I wouldn’t know which answer to give him anyway.

Theo switched off his torch light and we were left in the dark, only the moonlight illuminating our surroundings a bit. I was hyper aware of Theo’s presence next to me. My senses zoned in on everything that came from him. The rustling of the blanket when he moved a bit, his silent breathing, some soft sighs leaving his lips. I felt desire burn up in my chest. Why was I even torturing myself like this? I should have just shared my tent with Lael or Paul. The closeness to Theo was really hard to take, when all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him, inhale his scent… Jesus, I needed to stop those thoughts. I turned to the other side, unable to find a comfortable position to lie in. 

Theo kept moving as well. His breathing wasn’t deep. So I guessed he wasn’t asleep either. Oh well, this would be a long night…


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is getting a bit longer than I thought, so there will be three parts. But I guess you don't mind. ;)  
> Have fun with part 2! :)

Theo’s POV

I woke up the next morning to the sound of a bird singing its song. I groaned a bit, rubbing my tired eyes. I felt like I hadn’t slept at all and the feeling probably wasn’t too wrong. Adam’s confession from last night had kept me awake. It left me wondering and guessing and my mind just didn’t shut up. Hell, I wasn’t expecting that. Adam being interested in a man. It quickly led me to my next question: Who was it? And then I was thinking about Adam’s strange behaviour towards me in the past weeks or even months? Those odd little moments came back to my mind. Things I couldn’t fathom in the past suddenly appeared in another light. But could it be?

All those thoughts were confusing me and made me restless but I couldn’t say that it made me feel uneasy. There was rather a strange kind of thrill, a curiosity. I knew I needed to find out if I was right as soon as possible even though I didn’t have a plan how to do that. Of course I could just ask him but I didn’t want to make things awkward between us. With women I could normally tell if there’s interest or not, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure it out with Adam either. 

Another yawn escaped me and I looked to my left where Adam was still sleeping peacefully. I was watching him for a while, a warm feeling of affection spreading through my body. My best friend, my partner in crime, the one that completed me in so many ways. I stretched out my hand to touch his cheek lightly but pulled back as soon as he started moving a bit. What was I even doing?

I decided to get up, leave the tent and start into the day. I was still tired as hell but there was nothing I could do about it now. The others were already gathered around our camping table having breakfast. 

“Oh wow, you look tired! Did you sleep at all?” Paul shouted, which led to everyone staring at me.

“Shut up, I guess I just have to get used to sleeping in a tent,” I lied but I obviously couldn’t tell them that I spent most of the night thinking about the relationship to my best friend. 

Adam joined us some time later. He didn’t look very well rested either. No wonder, he had kept tossing and turning most of the night. There was happy chatter around us. Adam and I were mostly silent, not really taking part in the conversation. From time to time he caught my eye. A silent question in his gaze. Are we ok? I smiled at him. Of course we are. He probably needed reassurance after last night’s confession. 

After breakfast we spent a rather lazy day by the lake, swimming and sunbathing. The atmosphere was happy and relaxed. Adam didn’t stay that long in the sun because he didn’t want his skin to get burned and therefore he made his way back to the camping site.

At some point I must have dozed off and when I woke up something warm was caressing my cheek. I instinctively thought it was Adam because he had somehow crept into the dream I had before I woke up. But when I opened my eyes I was nearly disappointed to find out it was Dana.

“Hey sleepyhead…” she whispered, a warm smile spreading across her face. 

I blinked a few times, only then noticing that we were the only ones left by the lake. “Where is everyone?” I asked therefore.

“Back at the camping site, preparing dinner,” she said.

“Ah ok, then we should go as well I guess…” I started to get up but Dana stopped me by placing a hand on my chest. 

“Theo…” We looked at each other and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to get close. I knew she wanted it. And I wanted it too, didn’t I? I hesitated. Actually it wasn’t that appealing to me anymore. My mind was elsewhere. With him. I needed to find out what was going on between us. I was intrigued, I couldn’t deny it. 

So, I just stood up, letting her hand slide from my body. She looked disappointed and maybe even a little hurt.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?” She didn’t understand my behaviour. And honestly I didn’t really understand it myself.

“Nothing. It’s not you. I’m just not looking for anything at the moment.” 

“Oh and that’s why you flirted with me yesterday all day long. Make up your mind, Theo!”  
And with that she stormed off, leaving me behind. I couldn’t blame her for being mad. I hate it every time women are sending wrong signals and now I did it myself. But I couldn’t know that Adam would snatch my attention away from her. I just got easily distracted.

With a sigh I also made my way back to our camping site where I immediately found Adam’s questioning eyes on me. He must have picked up on Dana’s mood even though she was already laughing again with Paul and Mary. I just raised an eyebrow at him and tried to act as if nothing had happened. And so did Dana. However she was carefully ignoring me for the rest of the evening.

That night Adam and I retreated to our tent a bit earlier since we were both really knackered. When we were lying comfortably next to each other and my eyes were already falling shut, Adam’s voice reached over to me, disturbing my almost-sleep.

“What happened between you and Dana?” 

I opened my eyes and looked at him. “Nothing. Why?”

“Oh come on! You two were the last ones to come back from the lake and she was definitely pissed off even though she quickly tried to hide it and then she ignored you the whole evening.” He looked at me expectantly. 

“Okay Sherlock, if you need to know… I let her down. Now she’s mad at me but since tomorrow will be our last full day here and I will probably never see her again afterwards it shouldn’t matter too much.” I hoped my explanation would satisfy him.

“But why? I thought you liked her and you were looking for a summer flirt?” He seemed confused but also somehow relieved about the turn of events. Or was I imagining things?

“Yes I’d love to have a summer flirt, but maybe not with her?” I sent Adam a challenging look. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I somehow needed to get a reaction out of him. I needed to know if I was right and he had been talking about me the night before. 

Adam just stared at me. I could tell his mind was working. He licked over his dry lips, opening his mouth to say something but had to cough his voice clear beforehand. I knew my words were affecting him and I could barely suppress a victorious smirk. 

“Okay… just don’t wait too long. Summer won’t last forever,” Adam eventually replied, his composure gained back. Now it was his turn to smirk at me and at that I felt a slight prickle at the pit of my stomach. So he had gotten the hint and apparently he was game.

“I won’t,” I simply gave back, winking at him. I let my head fall back on the air bed, feeling the tiredness return. Adam did the same, scooting a bit closer to me, so that our arms were touching and wished me a good night. I smiled to myself and mumbled a “good night” in return.

* 

The next day we mostly spent exploring our neighborhood, walking a lot and just enjoying the beautiful nature that surrounded us. It was a pretty hot day and Adam kept complaining about the mosquitos that seemed to like him best out of the group.

“God why did I even agree to this? Those little fuckers are eating me alive!” he complained but just got a “Pussy” from Paul as a reply.

The others weren’t much more sympathetic with him. I patted his shoulder and when no one else was paying attention to us, I whispered in his ear: “Those insects just know what’s good.”

I enjoyed the look of surprise mixed with a tad of embarrassment on his face. He started grinning, teeth showing. “You want a taste as well?”

I felt my heartbeat speed up at those suggestive words and unconsciously licked my lips. I averted my gaze, still smiling and just gave back a “Maybe”. I didn’t wait for Adam’s reaction before picking up the pace again to not fall too much behind the others. 

I honestly didn’t know what we were doing. I mean, the relationship between Adam and me had always been quite special. It couldn’t be compared with any other friendship I had. And I was aware that from time to time people probably could have interpreted a bit more into our behaviours. Into the looks we shared, into the little touches here and there. But it wasn’t like that… we were just very comfortable around each other. 

But now… this was on a different level. There was definitely flirting, which I probably shouldn’t enjoy as much as I did. It was new to us and in some ways it excited me. I didn’t know if I should categorize it as a game or if it was something more serious. I didn’t even know where it would lead us, which direction I wanted it to take. We would probably keep this up for a while until we both get bored and then forget about it again. At least this would be the safe route. But the question was did we want to play it safe?

“Hey…” a voice next to me pulled me out of my deep thoughts. I realized that there was now Dana walking to my left and that Adam was involved in a conversation with Lael a few steps ahead of us. 

“Hey…” I gave back, not knowing what to expect from her.

“I’m sorry for behaving like a child yesterday. I guess I was just a little hurt in my pride. I wasn’t expecting a rejection to be honest…” she said.

“No, I am sorry,” I clarified quickly. “I was an idiot and I’m probably crazy for not taking a chance with a beautiful woman like you, but it’s just… I don’t know.” It was a poor explanation, but all I could come up with at the moment. 

“It’s alright. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t. I accepted it and it’s not like I’m madly in love with you after two days…” She gave me a wink.

“Well, now I’m disappointed. I’ve got to work on my skills!” I joked and we laughed together. I was glad that this was settled, I didn’t like to upset anyone.


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the final part of their little camping trip. Hope you like how things turn out for them. :)

Theo's POV

Our last evening in this beautiful place was spent like the ones before. With laughing, singing, telling stories and playing stupid games, which became more and more ridiculous with the amount of alcohol that was consumed. But it was fun anyway.

At one point while playing ‘Truth or dare’ Adam had to give me a kiss on the mouth. I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach as he got up from his chair, coming over to me, accompanied by the cheering of our silly friends. His eyes bore into mine and I knew this wasn’t just a stupid dare for him either. He kneeled down next to me, where I was sitting on a blanket, put a hand on my shoulder, maybe to steady himself and leaned forward. And then it just happened all very quickly. His lips brushed against mine and I felt heat rise up my neck. Before I could really savour the feeling of his mouth pressed on mine, he already drew back. He stayed close for another moment, where we just stared into each other’s eyes. The look on Adam’s face made me hold my breath for a second. His eyes were clouded and I was sure it was not just from the alcohol, there was also something like desire. 

If it hadn’t been for our friends whistling and clapping their hands and therefore pulling me back into reality, I would have probably pulled him close for another kiss then and there. But instead we broke our eye contact and laughed along, just as it was expected from us.

Before everything could get out of control even more, we all eventually decided to call it a night and retreat to our tents. The day had been exhausting with the hot weather and all the walking.

When Adam and I were lying in our tent again, I felt something like anticipation cursing through my veins. I didn’t know exactly what I was awaiting but I could still feel Adam’s lips on mine from our ‘forced’ kiss earlier and I had to admit I somehow hoped to get to kiss him again. In private this time. But I had no idea how to start something. Should I talk to him about the kiss from that stupid game or should I just get closer to him and see how he would react? I felt like an inexperienced teenager, not knowing how to approach my crush. Not even the alcohol in my blood was making me brave enough.

While I was still debating with myself, I suddenly heard Adam groan next to me. “God, it’s so fucking hot in here. It’s like a sauna. I will never be able to sleep!”

I chuckled. “Well, it was a pretty hot day. It’s normal that the sun had done a good job in heating up the tent and now it’s still quite warm outside.” I didn’t mind it that much. I could deal with heat better than with cold.

“Yeah great, doesn’t help me one bit,” he grumbled.

“Then jump into the lake and stop whining!” I gave back jokingly.

“That’s it!” He suddenly sat up with a jolt. “Wanna have a night swim?” He grinned wickedly and something about the way he looked at me spread immediately a feeling of excitement through my body.

I automatically grinned back at him. “Okay, I’m in. Let’s do this!”

So we crawled out of our tent again, just hurriedly grabbed the torch and tried to make our way to the lake as silently as possible, careful not to wake the others. But of course there had to be some little rock in my way that made me stumble right into Adam’s back. We giggled like little kids, making ‘shh’ sounds to each other.

After that Adam grabbed my hand, leading me to the lake and making sure I wouldn’t stumble again. I enjoyed the physical contact with him and was even a bit disappointed when he suddenly let go of my hand. Only then I realized that we were already standing in front of the lake. It was beautiful with no one around but us, the moonlight and the stars reflecting in the water, making it look like thousands of little dancing crystals.

While I was still absorbed in the view in front of me, I suddenly saw Adam pull his shirt over his head. That’s when I noticed that we were standing here in shirt and boxers only, the way we intended to go to sleep. Our drunken minds hadn’t even thought about bringing swim shorts or at least something to change and I wasn’t too keen on going all the way back to our tent in soaked shorts, especially since a slightly fresh breeze had come up.

I was still busy deciding what to do when Adam just stepped out of his shorts his back towards me and ran into the water. I was staring at his ass before he disappeared into the lake.

He turned around, grinning widely and looking at me expectantly. “Hey, what are you waiting for? Come in, it feels bloody amazing!”

I gulped. Great! Now I was forced to strip in front of him while he was watching me, himself being safely covered by the water surrounding him. It wasn’t like we’ve never seen each other naked before. There had been public showers. But this was still very different. It was much more intimate. And I knew he would focus on me now, especially with that newly discovered thing between us, whatever it was.

But I couldn’t stand here forever and I didn’t want him to call me out for hesitating, so I started with pulling my shirt over my head. I tried to act confident, reminding myself that I had nothing to be ashamed of but still, feeling his intense gaze on me made me nervous. I eventually pulled my shorts down, leaving them behind next to the other pieces of clothes. 

I walked into the lake a lot slower than Adam had done, since I really needed to get used to the cold water. At the same time I felt my body on fire. The awkwardness was somehow gone all of a sudden and now I felt rather thrilled by seeing the look on his face, while he was staring at my body, watching my every move without even trying to hide it.  
When I had finally managed to get in completely, I swam towards him, a smile on my face. He smiled back at me, his eyes showing that spark of desire again, I had already seen earlier.

“Are you still feeling hot?” I asked him with a smirk, very well aware that one could detect a hidden meaning in my question.

Adam hesitated with his answer for a moment, clearing his throat first. “It’s um… very refreshing here, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, totally…” I gave back before I started splashing water into his face. I felt high-spirited with lots of energy I needed to set free. After a moment of surprise he immediately joined the game and splashed the water back at me. We were laughing and screaming and playing around like children. At one point he was fed up with me and my provocations and he jumped towards me, trying to pull me underwater. I couldn’t get away fast enough and even though I don’t like to admit it, he was somehow stronger than me, so he managed to push me under the surface. 

When he let me get up again, I was gasping for air and he pulled me close against his body. Now the air got stuck in my lungs for a whole different reason. He looked at me and I was shivering. He was so close. The warmth of his body mixed with the coolness of the water surrounding us, gave me goosebumps all over. 

“Are you cold?” he asked and let his big hands slide up and down my arms.

I felt the strength in his hold and I liked it. He made me feel safe and protected. I had never experienced this kind of intimacy. Not with a man. I’d never been touched like this. I suddenly saw his face coming closer to mine, the distance decreasing between us agonizingly slow. I just stood there, frozen to the spot. I probably looked at him like a deer caught in headlight. 

“Theo…” he breathed against my mouth. And all of a sudden I felt panic rise up inside of me. What the fuck were we even doing? How did we even get ourselves in a situation like that? It scared me how much I wanted this and at the same time I didn’t know anymore if I could even handle it. If I could handle him that way.

I pulled back, bringing a bit of distance between us. “Yes, I’m cold actually. We should get out of here and go back,” I eventually answered his question just to escape the moment. When I saw the disappointment on his face, I immediately felt bad. Why was I such a coward? Why wasn’t I sure of what I wanted? Dana had been right, I should make up my mind. But now it was too late anyway, I had ruined the moment. Adam had just given me a nod and was already stepping out of the water now. He took his clothes from the ground and put them on again. I followed him shortly and did the same.

The silence between us was deafening when we made our way back to the camping site. I was cold and tried to not let my teeth clatter too loudly while walking one step behind Adam. He didn’t turn around once to see if I was alright and it hurt me more than it should. I was very sober now after our swim in the cold lake, the lightheadedness all gone and I just wished I could get it back. 

When we arrived at our tent, we quickly got in. We still hadn’t spoken one word. I crawled under my blanket, still feeling really cold. It somehow wasn’t that warm outside anymore. According to the forecast the weather would change tomorrow. 

Adam lay down on his side, his back turned towards me. “Good night, Theo” he mumbled, his tone clearly signaling that he didn’t want any further conversation right now.

I felt a lump in my throat. I didn’t want us to be this way. I didn’t want him to be mad at me, even though it was my own fault. I wanted to be close to him. A second chance, that I probably didn’t deserve. “Adam please…” I whispered. 

“Please what?” he turned around, trying to keep his voice down, but I could still here the anger in it. “What the hell do you want Theo? Please tell me, because I have no fucking clue anymore. And think carefully about it, because I’m not your fool!”

“I know… I’m sorry,” I said quietly and after some moments of silence: “Can I… Can I come closer? I’m so cold.”

He huffed and for a moment I thought he’d lose his temper, but nothing happened. Eventually I heard the rustle of his blanket and a “Come here”, his voice more gentle now.  
Without missing a beat I shifted over to him, slid under his blanket and snuggled up against his warm body. He wrapped his arms around me and I let out a contented sigh. We stayed like this for a while and he was so silent, that I wondered if he’d maybe fallen asleep. I let my hand slide over his chest and up to his neck, testing him and I finally got a reaction. 

“Theo…“ he hissed, catching my hand in his. “Stop it. You’re driving me crazy!”

I could hear the desperation in his voice and it definitely did some things to me. I brought my mouth close to his ear. I knew it was now or never. “Kiss me!”

I heard him draw in a sharp breath. “Are you sure this time?”

“Yes,” I breathed, my lips already meeting his. As sure as I could be. And then we kissed for real for the first time, our mouths molding together. We fit perfectly as always. Adam was stroking up and down my spine, pulling me even closer. I deepened the kiss in need to get a taste of him. He immediately obliged, as if he had just been waiting for it. Damn, I wanted him! I surely wasn’t cold anymore.

Adam let his hand slide down the front of my body, making the muscles of my stomach twitch when he was caressing my skin there. He pushed his fingertips under the waistband of my shorts and lingered there for a moment, giving me a chance to stop him. I didn’t. My heart was hammering against my ribcage when he dragged down my boxers and I couldn’t hold in a moan at his first touch. “Shhh,” he whispered in my ear, his tongue started playing with my earring. 

Before losing my mind completely I reached for his shorts, tearing them down. I wanted to give him what he was giving me, wanted to make him feel good as well. I felt him shudder under my touch but he didn’t lose his pace on me. He buried his face in the crook of my neck to muffle the sounds coming out of his mouth and I bit my lip, trying my hardest to do the same... 

We didn’t talk afterwards. We just held each other close, sharing a few tender kisses before drifting into sleep. 

*

The next morning I didn’t really know how to look him in the eyes. I didn’t regret what happened between us but still, this was all so strange and I had never been so unsure how to act around him. Before I could escape our tent, he suddenly grabbed my hand, forcing me to look at him.

“Theo… we’re still the same,” he said, as if he could read my mind. But I wasn’t sure about that. I wasn’t sure if it would ever be the same. But before I got the chance to speak my mind, there were noises outside of our tent, someone opening it. Adam let go of my hand, before Paul stuck his head in.

“Are you two planning to get up anytime soon? We still have to pack all our things and we’d prefer to do that while it’s still dry…” He was referring to the rain that was forecasted for today.

“Yes mum, we’re on our way,“ Adam gave back a bit annoyed, throwing me a short glance before he followed Paul outside to finally start into the day.

The next hours after having a quick breakfast we were busy with taking down the tents, packing our stuff and putting everything into the cars. Adam and I worked together in silence most of the time. The mood wasn’t that cheerful in general. Everybody seemed to be a bit sad, that our camping trip had already reached its end and the grey sky just fit to the rather subdued mood. Just when we were about to put the last pieces into the car, thick raindrops began to fall. 

“Ohh the sky is crying, too because we’re leaving now!” Paul exclaimed.

“But we’ll see each other again soon,” I said, hugging Paul and then the others to say our goodbyes.

“Thanks for the lovely trip!” Paul waved at us and then we all hurried to get into the cars before we got even more soaked than we already were.

Adam and I were alone again for the first time since waking up and I felt the awkwardness return. I suddenly found it hard to have a normal conversation with him and he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well. At some point I realized that I must have taken the wrong root again, because nothing about our surroundings seemed familiar to me in the slightest. And I didn’t even see any other cars anymore.

Adam must have noticed my confusion and looked over to me. “Theo, don’t tell me we are lost again! Why didn’t you take the GPS?”

“I thought I knew the route but somehow everything looked different now than when we got here,” I gave back defensively. 

“When we got here you already took the wrong route, too…” he pointed out, sounding annoyed.

“Well, you could have looked up the way beforehand as well. I’m not your fucking chauffeur!” I felt myself getting frustrated with Adam and with the situation in general. And above all I felt uncomfortable with my still damp shirt clinging to my body and my hair being a mess.

“Okay, let’s stop arguing and look up the way. I have this appointment to visit my potential future apartment in three hours – I told you about it - and before that I need to shower and change my clothes, so we really should get going!” 

At that I pulled the car to the side and hit the brakes, looking at Adam. “I don’t even want you to go to that stupid appointment!” I blurted out.

He stared at me for a moment, totally taken aback. “And why not, if I may ask?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Because I… I want you to stay with me, okay?”

When there was nothing but stunned silence coming from Adam, I went on. “I travel so much when we are not on tour because I don’t know what to do with myself in my empty apartment. It feels much more like home since you had moved in,” I admitted silently, staring straight ahead, because I didn’t dare looking him in the eyes.

“Oh Theo…” I could hear the affection in his voice. ”Why didn’t you say a word? I’m in no hurry to find an apartment of my own.” 

I just shrugged a bit helplessly and when I felt his hand on my thigh I looked at him hesitantly.

“I can cancel the appointment,” he said, his face serious. “Are you really sure you want me to stay with you, even after… after last night?”

“Even more after last night…” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks getting hot.

A beautiful smile spread across Adam’s face and he leaned over to me in an instant, cupping my head in his hands. He kissed me softly on the lips, letting his forehead rest against mine afterwards. “I hope you know I never wanted to leave. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you,” he whispered. 

I felt a happy flutter in my stomach and I smiled. “We’re idiots, you know that?” 

“Yeah.” He chuckled and we kissed another couple of times. 

When we finally parted, I grabbed my phone and started the GPS. “Okay, so this will hopefully show us the way back to OUR home,” I said, grinning at Adam.

“Hopefully,” he gave back. “I actually can’t wait to get into your bed. Uh… I mean… the bed in your apartment, one of the beds… just a real bed… because the air bed wasn’t that… yeah whatever… forget it.” He was bright red when he finished his stammering and I couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore.

“It’s okay Adam…” I eventually brought out. “I actually don’t mind sharing my bed with you,” I stated, giving him a wink before starting the engine once again.


End file.
